Sussex cyclists to attempt John O'Groat-Land's End in less than 48 hours

Four cyclists from Sussex will set off a week on Friday in an attempt to ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End in less than 48 hours – and in the process set a new Guinness World Record.

Karl Burkett, Steve Clark, Ollie Taylor and Tim Clark will set off from north east Scotland at 10.30am on Friday 23 June, each aiming to ride an 80-kilometre shift before handing over to a team mate.

They will have a support crew of four, as well as a videographer who will be making a documentary of their efforts.

Burkett said: “The idea came from watch The Race Across America (RAAM). We plan to ride 80km sections and maintain an average speed of 27.5 kilometres an hour for the 48-hour period.

“Yes, we could go quicker but maintaining the pace and recovery time is vital. Our training has been 100-kilometre sessions at all sorts of times of the day and night in preparation.

“We have had great support from several sponsors, all of which can be seen on our Facebook page.”

Those include Proper Cycling & Coffee, based in Hasssocks, and Skoda, Station Garage in Horsham, which will provide their support vehicle.

There will be a live tracker on their Facebook page, and they are also raising money through Just Giving for the Air Ambulance service in Devon & Dorset.

Birkett added that the team’s main concerns for the journey were “Traffic, Roadworks and anything else that might hold us up!

“Rider safety is also a top priority but the event has been well planned out and thanks to Skoda we have a support safety vehicle that can remain with the riders most of the time.”